Aytug Tansu

The Sweden island mansion includes a domed party lounge that can accommodate 300 guests -- ideal for those post-pandemic celebrations.

People love the modern Mexican design of Villa Amalfi with its dark woods, crisp white linens, intricate tilework, and the indoor/outdoor layout that includes a pool right in the centre of the house. It’s also centrally located between Tulum beach – a long stretch of road that includes the ever-trendy destination’s beach clubs and restaurants – and the town centre.

Every 10 years, the horticultural world descends on the Netherlands for the Floriade Expo, a sprawling fair dedicated to gardens (and gardening) that this year centres around a theme of “growing green cities,” considering the future of urban green spaces, and how the city and nature can coexist. A small warning: upon visiting in late April two weeks after opening, much of the Floriade park was unfinished due to delays prompted by the pandemic. There were still plenty of highlights to enjoy – the Japanese pavilion exploring satoyama village forests, the “Green House” exploring greenhouse horticulture, and a good old cable car ride – but it may be worth managing your expectations this year all the same.

At the end of a very long road in Australia's far north, on a remote stretch of coastline along the isolated southern shore of the Gulf of Carpentaria, is Burketown (population 238). Caught between savannah and sea, beneath a big outback sky, the town is not on the road to anywhere: if you're in Burketown, you either took a wrong turn, or you really wanted to be here.

Resettling in Helsinki, Ratia worked as a copywriter for an ad agency, presaging her flair for publicity. "After the war, young men and women wanted to rebuild Finland," says Borrelli-Persson. "Armi was free-spirited, and rejected notions of class and traditional gender roles." On leaving the military, Viljo bought an oilcloth factory called Printex, which went bankrupt soon after. Armi joined the company in 1949 and two years later she and Viljo co-founded textiles firm Marimekko. It was launched with a fashion show at Helsinki's Kalastajatorppa Hotel. Meaning "Mary's dress" in Finnish, the name Marimekko had a universal ring to it.

Bypassing Saint-Tropez for Sainte-Maxime (its low-key but charming neighbour across the bay), the D559 continues past pétanque courts and waterfront restaurants towards the popular resort town of Saint-Raphaël. The 30km stretch between Saint-Raphaël and Mandelieu-La Napoule, where majestic red ochre rocks tumble into the sparkling Mediterranean Sea below, is one to savour: known as the Corniche d'Or, the road mimics the twists and turns of the craggy coastline before opening out onto the Bay of Cannes.

These rocky ranges behind Mandelieu-La Napoule, the coastal town west of Cannes in southern France, are home to Europe's largest mimosa forest. For six years, Polomeni has been one of the few registered guides leading small groups along walking trails that criss-cross this dry Mediterranean landscape. Along the way, she's become a point of reference for travellers like me who are following La Route du Mimosa, a 130km road trip that starts in Bormes-les-Mimosas, 35km west of Saint-Tropez, and finishes in the perfume-scented town of Grasse in the Cannes hinterland, an itinerary best travelled between January and March when the region breaks out in giant brushstrokes of rich yellow.

Over the next two months, researchers on the National Geographic and Rolex expedition she helped to organise would study the effects of climate change on this part of the Himalayas. Elmore, a geologist and at the time senior programme manager of the National Geographic Society in the US, supported the team installing the world's highest weather station on the flanks of Mount Everest. During the course of their expedition, her colleagues discovered the world's highest evidence of microplastic pollution in snow and stream water close to the summit.

In 2010, Unesco inscribed the gastronomic meal of the French onto its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, permanently enshrining the French meal under its protection. However, the designation isn't just about the food. It emphasises all the traditional elements that comprise a gastronomic meal in France, from the notion of conviviality – the idea of gathering together in a warm-hearted atmosphere – to the thoughtful selection of high-quality local produce. Other elements in the designation include table setting, food and wine pairings and a fixed meal structure.

Rural return
In addition to its environmental benefits, pine resin's proponents also believe it could offer a solution to Spain's rural exodus. According to a report by the Bank of Spain, 42% of the country's towns are affected by depopulation, as increasing numbers of young people leave the countryside to search for better job opportunities in the cities. This phenomenon is exacerbated in Castilla y León, where 80% of towns in 14 local provinces are considered "at risk of extinction".

Maskelyne thus elected to personally oversee the work that would eventually give Schiehallion something akin to celebrity status in the hiking world, as evidenced by the 20,000 hikers who visit each year. They each pass a commemorative cairn, celebrating the work of Maskelyne and his team, in the Braes of Foss carpark at the start of the hike.

Not long into my own ascent of Schiehallion, I saw my first fellow hiker trudging down a well-trodden path, looking somewhat dishevelled. Early autumn had rebranded the bracken-laced slopes in a burnt sienna, while above me there was only cloud and, presumably, the rest of the mountain. Already though, with no large mountains nearby, the view from the lower slopes exposed vast tracts of central Scotland.

Today, the Shimanami Kaido stops along busy fishing ports, valleys terraced with farming villages and lemon and mikan tangerine orchards – and even culinary gems like the sushi restaurant Akakichi, which the Michelin Guide highlights as one of the most remote stars in its constellation of restaurants.

The route is also a journey into Japan's little-known seafaring past. From the 9th Century to the end of the 16th Century, the Geiyo Islands were home to pirates (kaizoku). These were seafaring clans who, by virtue of their skill at navigating dangerous waters, dominated the sea lanes of the Seto Inland Sea – and terrorised the coasts of East Asia, raiding, trading and fighting battles.

Baily Head is now the largest penguin colony on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula. It's a place where birds in dinner jackets belly-surf out of sub-zero waters and waddle up perilous slopes tinted green with algae. "It's just an awesome sight with so many birds as far as the eye can see," Hare enthused. "There are chinstrap penguins to the heavens, to where the landscape disappears into the sky."

This massive concentration lures other birds, too, including snowy sheathbills and brown skuas who prowl the penguin colony in search of unattended eggs. The cliff edges nearby also hide Cape and storm petrels, while the beach holds several types of pinnipeds, including doe-eyed Weddell seals and big-nosed elephant seals.

"I find it incredible. They are such rare, new [to science] or unknown species that we don't even know if they are threatened or not," says Álvarez Clare.

In the case of Mexico, the Red List estimates that 32 of the country's oak species are in danger of extinction. And among the most threatened is the arroyo oak.

A haven in Mexico

Part of the puzzle lies in the species' limited range, far from its evolutionary relatives. The most closely related species to the stream oak is Quercus fusiformis, which is found in Texas, Oklahoma and north-east Mexico, says botanist Allen Coombes, who curates scientific collections at the Botanic Garden of the University of Puebla in Mexico.

It takes just half an hour to get between Mahé and Bird Island by plane. But they are worlds apart. Mahé is quite densely populated with plenty of modern infrastructure. On Bird, there are no motorised vehicles and the airstrip must be checked for tortoises before planes receive permission to land.